Fractured Infinity
by Asgardian-Centaur
Summary: A series of hypothetical scenarios all stemming from one point: the moment when Sigyn felt Loki's death. Six Infinity Stones, six possibilities. Three sad endings, three happy endings. (This is what happens when I have a bunch of feelings and ideas after seeing Infinity War but can't settle on any of them.)
1. Part I (Soul): Undying Fidelity

Part I Summary: After Loki faked his death multiple times, a bit of magic was supposed to keep him and Sigyn connected. Perhaps it worked a little too well.

Part I: Soul

Undying Fidelity

The attack had been brutal, and the aftermath equally devastating. Half of her people had been killed, and the remaining Asgardians were packed into an escape vessel. Sigyn was restless in her corner of the ship. She wanted to climb out of her skin and crawl up the walls. Her heart hammered in her chest and her breaths came quick and shallow. Everything was too sharp, too loud: the rumbling and whirling of the ship's engine, the whispering and crying from the rest of her people, the Valkyrie giving orders and taking command of the ship. Somewhere, Sigyn knew that she should be helping; she had been a queen of sorts after all. But every time she inhaled her chest felt tight and the words wouldn't come. Outside the tiny window, the Statesman grew smaller and smaller. Thor, Heimdall, Banner, and Loki were still on that ship. Loki, who should be here, who had promised that he was right behind her before he ordered Valkyrie to restrain her on the escape ship. "I'm sorry, my darling, but I can't risk anything happening to you."

A chill passed over her like icy needles under her skin. The too bright, too sharp surroundings on the escape ship faded and blurred. Shadows of the Statesman flickered at the edges of her vision, all jagged edges and fading embers. "Undying…fidelity." Loki's voice echoed in her head, shaking her bones.

"No. Nonononono." White hot pain shot through her arm and Sigyn dropped to her knees. A shadow loomed over her, and the deep voice that followed seemed to shake the walls. The details of his face may have been lost to shadow, but she knew him: the monster Loki spoke of in hushed tones, always checking over his shoulder. Tears stung her eyes and burned their way down her cheeks. She promised him every Infinity Stone, every star, moon, and world if he would just let Loki go. And for a fleeting, hopeful moment, the pain stopped, and Sigyn thought he might have heard her.

Until the sensation of a hand closed around her throat.

Still, Sigyn pleaded, her voice straining as the grip tightened. Her words were little more than wisps, lost and dying as soon as they were given life. Her nails bit at her throat, scratching; if she tried hard enough, she could pry the hand from around her—and Loki's—neck.

"You will never be a god."

The edges of her vision darkened, and echoed voices swam around her. "Please," she gasped. "Let…him go."

There was a sharp crack along along the vertebrae in her neck. And then it all stopped.

Air rushed back into her cavernous lungs. The muted world of the Statesman shattered into the too bright escape vessel. Every part of her felt numb; a void blossomed where her heart should have been. Loki's name was barely a whisper on her lips, but it left a tiny crack in her, one that fractured the way ice does when it starts to give under a great weight. With every hollow breath, the fractures spread and the realization closed in around her.

Loki was gone.

The last fracture gave under that realization, and as she felt herself shatter, a howling scream tore free from her throat.


	2. Part II (Power): Ashes to Ashes

Part II Summary: Driven by grief and rage, Sigyn joins the battle in Wakanda. Like most flames, her wrath will eventually burn out.

Part II: Power

Ashes to Ashes, Dust to Dust

It was the magic Thor saw first. A familiar flash of gold flew past his head and impacted with the creature not more than six feet away from where he stood. It howled and screamed and clawed at its eyes before a dagger embedded itself in the creature's forehead. Thor spun and scanned the battlefield. There was no sign of Valkyrie or any of the other Asgardians, but he did glimpse Sigyn charging into a group of creatures. Her magic whipped around her like a storm, slicing and burning her enemies. Her attacks were wild and unfocused, just as likely to hit an ally as much as an enemy.

"Sigyn!" He called to her before grabbing her dagger out of the creature's head and rushing to her side. If she heard him, she made no acknowledgement of it. He arrived just as Sigyn tore another dagger from a creature's throat. Her hands were coated in blue-black blood and her chest armor bore a splattering of the same color. "What are you doing? It's not safe here!"

This time she looked at him, and Thor's blood felt like ice in his veins. Her molten gold irises burned through him, and he could almost see the magic coursing through her veins underneath her skin. She _knew_. Through whatever bond she and Loki had shared, Sigyn knew his brother was gone.

"Vengeance," she snarled through blood stained teeth. Her voice reverberated in his bones and scraped against his nerves. Sigyn was hemorrhaging magic and it was making her unstable.

"Sigyn, please don't do this. He wouldn't…" The air crackled and sparked around her as she advanced on him, teeth bared and fresh tears in her eyes.

"Kill the one who took him from us. And stay out of my way, brother."

And Thor did, until his aim missed the mark and with a snap the entire universe changed.

Something felt wrong, like the ground had shifted and the air felt thick and heavy the way it does right before a storm. Footsteps shuffled beside him; Sigyn could barely keep herself standing. Her eyes were dull, tired, and magic no longer swirled around her. Her magic was spent, and it might take a lifetime to get back.

"We were supposed to avenge him," she rasped, her voice little more than wind.

"I'm sorry, sister." A broken sob escaped her throat, her knees threatened to buckle, and Thor placed an arm around her waist to help keep her up. "Come on, we need to get you out of here."

Sigyn didn't move. Her gaze was fixed on some point in the distance. Tears slid down her cheeks and her bottom lip quivered. "Loki…"

There was nothing but death and destruction where she was looking, and Thor feared that her grief had shattered her mind. She twisted free and stumbled forward, her arm outstretched towards an illusion only she could see. Thor grabbed her arm—she needed help and he had to get her to safety—but his hand passed through her arm as it turned to dust. Sigyn didn't notice. She kept repeating Loki's name as her body turned to ash and drifted on the wind.


	3. Part III (Reality): Revenant

Thanos didn't expect to receive a visitor once his work was done. Especially not the Trickster's widow.

Part III (Reality)

Revenant

Dawn peaked over the horizon, bathing the sky and earth in a golden light. Thanos sat in front of his farm, admiring the shining brilliance of it all. "_I will watch the sunrise on a grateful universe."_ And a glorious sunrise it was. A golden dawn to begin a golden age.

His peace, though, did not last long. He was plagued by strange dreams and a feeling of unease throughout the day. There were times he could have sworn he'd see a pair of eyes staring at him from the dark. But whenever he would go out to investigate, there was nothing there.

One morning, a strange woman appeared in front of his farm. She was corpse pale, with dark blonde hair that hung in limp strands. Her clothing was torn and dirty-maybe burned. What little armor she wore was damaged, yet dull bits of gold shone through the grime. But two features stood out. Her eyes were a sharp light blue that had an unnatural glow to them. Her throat was a ruin; deep scratches created dark rivers down her throat, and smaller scratches marred her jaw. She stared at him in absolute silence, and her unsettling gaze bore into him with an expression he couldn't quite place.

"Who are you?" he asked. When she didn't answer, he pushed further. "Why are you here?" He wondered if the damage to her throat had rendered her unable to speak.

When she finally spoke, her voice was stronger than he would have thought. "I am a revenant, here on behalf of one who cannot be."

"There are billions of those, you'll have to be more specific." He was in no mood for her riddles. "I'll ask again, who are you?"

The woman took a shuddering breath and stood straighter, her eyes meeting his. "I am Sigyn of Asgard. You killed my husband."

This was disappointing, but not entirely unexpected. He had met a hoard of vengeful spouses, children, and parents who could not see the larger picture, who could not separate their pain from what was good for the rest of the universe. "Is it vengeance you seek, then?"

"It is."

Misguided, as so many of them were. "I, too, have lost someone in all of this. But your pain, our pain...it is a little thing. It is one drop compared to what the universe has suffered."

"Do not compare yourself to me." She pulled a knife from her belt. "You have no idea what I have suffered."

"You're right. But balancing the universe had a cost, and no one person is more important than the survival of all life."

"He was to me."

This, too, he had seen before. There was no reasoning with the grief-mad. She had come here looking for a fight, but he did not relish such a thought. His work was done and he wanted to rest. "This will not end well for you, and it would be a shame for you to die after surviving the loss of your people and half the universe. Go back to your people, mourn your husband and be grateful that you have now been spared three times."

"And who are you to tell me to be grateful after you murdered my husband?"

"Call it what you want, I did what needed to be done." This conversation had grown tedious. "Go, while I'm still feeling merciful."

Sigyn charged at him with a feral screech. She was fast, and ran straight towards him. This too was familiar. He had seen people's grief overrule their senses and lead them to attack blindly, as though their rage alone would give them strength. Sigyn was no different. Her attack was clearly broadcast; she was aiming for his chest. _Perhaps it is not vengeance she longs for but death_. When she was in striking distance, he reached out to grab her. He still did not wish to fight her, but perhaps a small amount of pain would change her mind.

His hand passed through nothing, and Sigyn dissolved into golden light.

"What-" Thanos caught the movement in the corner of his eye at the last moment, a flash of gold to his left and slightly behind him. He dodged but the dagger still embedded itself in the back of his shoulder. A good hit, but also a mistake. Sigyn had placed herself in his reach and left herself open. He caught her by the wrist and flung her away before yanking the dagger out and tossing it aside.

He turned the dagger over in his hand. It was the same dagger he had stopped inches from his throat. Sigyn scrambled to her feet with a snarl. Gone was the wretch he'd seen earlier. Now she had a helm with golden horns. Her dingy armor was golden in the morning light. A green cape billowed behind her. There was still something fierce and unnatural about her eyes, and her neck still bore scratch marks, faded as they were.

The pieces clicked. "You are Loki's wife." When they had found Loki, Ebony Maw had pulled so much information from him: a mother he adored, a father he would always be a disappointment to, a brother he loved and hated in equal measure, and an unnamed woman Loki managed to keep from them even under the Maw's expert work. Thanos had wondered who such a woman might be, but he had let it go once they had Loki's cooperation. Now, Thanos regretted not pushing the matter further. He touched the wound on his shoulder. It wasn't as deep as he had feared, but she had still landed a solid hit.

"At least you're more competent than your husband."

"Is that flattery? Because it won't stop me from avenging him."

He sighed. "It's a shame. Misguided as you are, I might have found your quest honorable had it been for anyone other than him. Loki was weak. I tasked him with bringing me the Tessaract, I even gave him an army and an additional Infinity Stone, and he still failed. For this, I had to break his neck." Her hand came up to touch the marks on her throat, and he understood a little more. She was a fool to bind herself in such a way to one such as Loki.

"And that somehow makes it more justified? You tortured him, made him do your dirty work, and then killed him. You're not a savior, you're a butcher."

"His failure cost me years and resources. He had to pay for that. Perhaps next time you should choose a better husband."

Thanos shouldn't have been surprised that she would throw another dagger at him, but it was a surprise when the one dagger split into several more. No matter. If the girl was fond of tricks, he could provide those. He closed his fist, and the Reality stone turned the daggers, four in all, into birds that flew off into the trees. Sigyn conjured a short sword and charged at him. Like her daggers, she split into multiple copies. He shook his head and used the Reality stone to turn the ground soft and muddy. Her feet caught in the mud and she stumbled when she was in striking distance. Or really, the real her stumbled while her illusions kept going long enough for him to tell them apart. Thanos closed what little gap still remained between them, gripped her sword arm with one arm and her jaw with the other, forcing her to look up at him.

There was magic behind her eyes, in her veins, all the way down to the tips of her fingers. Thanos gave her jaw a slight squeeze to make sure it stayed there. "I see so much of him in you. The cape, the helmet, the armor, but it's so much more than these trappings you shroud yourself in. The way you fight, your tricks and deception. And like him, you are selfish and single-minded. He only saw a throne, and still you only see him." She struggled in his grasp, so he gave her arm a twist. She cried out, but she did stop struggling when they both heard something pop. "You are the echo of a dead man." He shoved her to the ground again. "And I don't have the patience to deal with ghosts."

Sigyn pushed herself to her feet. Her knees shook and she seemed less stable than before, but she still held herself upright. "I..am Sigyn of Asgard. My husband was Loki Odinson, the rightful king of Asgard and Jotunheim, and god of mischief."

"Asgard is gone, Jotunheim is a wasteland. You are queen of nothing and your husband was a coward. All your clever tricks are for nothing."

"When I felt you kill him," She touched the marks on her neck again. "I swore I would have my vengeance. I swore that I would end you."

"Gods break easily, girl. You will find that I do not." He closed his fist and let the Reality stone work. A thousand scenarios, a thousand different ways their battles could play out. All her tricks, all her magic, would never be enough. Whether the fight was quick or drawn out, no matter how close she may get to killing him, she would always lose. Every vision ended with her death.

Her hands had mud or blood or a mixture of both that left a streak reminiscent of war paint across her cheek as she brushed her tears away. Sigyn stood defiant, staring him down with rage filled eyes. But even as she drew another dagger, her hand trembled.

"Tell me," He closed his gauntleted fist again, the stones glowing in the morning light. "Are you sure you want to do this?"


End file.
